Rupert Grint
Rupert Alejandro Grint (born Rupert Alexander Grint in Hertfordshire, England, UK August 24, 1988) is an English-American actor, singer, and musician. He's also a known cross-dresser. He's fluent in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, and Klingon. Many, if not all, of his films and TV shows have included at least one Wilhelm scream. Humble beginnings as an inventor The son of director Alan Grint and singer Courtney Love, the result of an affair they had, Rupert was a movie fan by his first birthday, and until 1997, he made a living inventing new technologies, most famously, the portal, which beams you anywhere you want to go, the hologramophone, which allows contact with others by hologram, and the voice changing microphone, which was fitted between your teeth and could alter your voice using a remote control. As a present from Love, the Grints received a portion of her late husband's ashes shortly after his suicide (yeah, right) at 27 in 1994. The move to America In March 1997, Los Angeles voice actor Steve Kramer informed the Grints that an "Ian Thornton" of Hertfordshire has won a voice role in Pocket Monsters, but there was no record of an "Ian Thornton" living anywhere in Hertfordshire. Not wanting to let Kramer down, Rupert decided to assume the name, and Kramer informed them to come to Studio City. The Grints packed their belongings and moved to America via Carl Macek's yacht, the U.S.S. Streamline. It was on this fateful trip that Rupert met future friend Emma Watson. When they arrived at Studio City, they didn't see each other for nearly two years. The Steelers are formed When they did meet during the shoot for Dragon Ball, where Rupert was portraying Krillin and Emma was portraying Bulma, they decided then and there to form a tribute band. They recorded their music at Screenmusic Studios, one of three recording studios in the Los Angeles area where they did their voice acting. Their first album, a self-titled album recorded with bassist Steve Jay and drummer Ringo Starr, was a moderate success. It wasn't until Pirates of Encino that the band really enjoyed big-time success, although the band had worked with Arista Records since their formation. In the meantime, his father had purchased a used 1995 Plymouth Grand Voyager LX to get around the Los Angeles area. Rupert joins the film industry In 2000, Rupert answered a call by Walt Disney Pictures asking for a red-headed or strawberry blonde boy with a technological gift to portray a hacker codenamed "WarGame", not knowing until 2002 that the character would eventually evolve into Haruka Teno. He had only a few lines in Sailor Moon and none in Sailor Moon R--at least, as the hacker then known only as "WarGame". Rupert accepted the part of an evil alien in Sailor Moon R, and he later said that playing a villain was exhausting work. "All I have to say is," he was later quoted as saying, "I'm glad he turned good before the end of his screen time." The Giver In March 2002, taping began for the part-black and white, part-color ABC special presentation of Lois Lowry's The Giver, which is about a 12-year-old boy who is selected as the new Receiver of Memories only to find out later on that by "release", his community actually meant "kill by injection". The special, which also starred Robert Redford as the title character and featured Emma in a small, yet pivotal, role as (SPOILER ALERT) the Giver's daughter (END SPOILER), who is released before the time of the special's setting, was broadcast on November 15, 2002. The cross-dressing begins When Rupert realized in July 2002 that his "WarGame" character from the previous two Sailor Moon films was actually Haruka Teno, he was pleasantly surprised, accepting Disney's offer to him that allowed him to reprise his role for the last three films in the saga. The then-current members of Guns N Roses, who he immediately befriended, future Remington Steelers honorary fifth member Izzy Stradlin (who was invited for the sole purpose of a successful attempt to reconcile Izzy and GNR frontman W. Axl Rose), and the rest of LA's rock community, as well as costume designer James Acheson, were invited to Rupert's 14th birthday party by the Grints, and his present from Acheson was an authentic Sailor Uranus costume, which Acheson told him to try on for the party goers to see. When Rupert emerged from upstairs wearing the costume, Rose commented, "It looks good on you," and Buckethead said, "You could almost be a girl." "As a matter of fact," Rupert said, "I am playing a girl in a motion picture, which explains the costume." Guns N Roses performed for him in the backyard, and he asked Rose if his (Rupert's) band could make an album that celebrates 20 years of GNR, and Rose said yes. The setlist was "Welcome to the Jungle", "It's So Easy", "Mr. Brownstone", "Night Train", "Sweet Child O Mine", "Right Next Door to Hell", "Live and Let Die", "Don't Cry", "Civil War", "November Rain", "You Could Be Mine", "Estranged", "Since I Don't Have You", "Patience", "Down on the Farm", and "Paradise City". Interestingly, Rupert's father encouraged the band to go all out with their songs, even if it meant using foul language (something that Rupert's father never had anything against). Appropriately enough, Rupert's present from Rose was all five then-currently released GNR albums in explicit form. On Broadway Emma, who had previously said she based the Ami Kobayashi character from her Kung Fu Romansu manga on a female version of Rupert, saw Rupert dressed like a girl days later and decided to add Michiru Kaioh to her already-growing resume of film roles at his request. She also asked Rupert to appear as Ami Kobayashi in her Broadway play based on her manga, and he accepted. He spent several months perfecting martial arts techniques in preparation for the stage play, which opened in June 2004 and ran for 12 shows. Despite this short running time, the play was successful thanks to the first show being broadcast live on television. The broadcast was late at night to get past the FCC (due to dirty language, topless scenes, and bloody violence) and marked the first time anyone around the world saw him in drag. Rupert later reprised his role in the 2006 motion picture adaptation. Slayers In the summer of 2004, Rupert and Emma went to Mexico to start shooting The Slayers on location with Unax Ugalde, Chisaki Hama, Penelope Cruz, and Gael Garcia Bernal among other Mexican and Spanish actors. Everyone spoke Spanish on the set, and during long marches to the locations, Emma encouraged the cast and crew to sing "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" to the Colonel Bogey March. In January 2005, their hard work paid off, as the first broadcast of the first episode on NBC (with English subtitles) and Telemundo generated many viewers. The show, which was originally slated for three seasons, was renewed for another two in 2008. The fourth season is set to be broadcast in 2010. Tokyo Babylon and Amazing Agent Luna In October 2004, Rupert starred in Tokyo Babylon, the first of several CLAMP-based motion pictures, with Matt Dillon. September 2005 marked the release of the long-anticipated 3-D action film from Disney and Carolco: Amazing Agent Luna, which originated from an idea by Mario Kassar called "Operation High School". The film had been scheduled for release in 1997 had Carolco not gone under in 1995. At the time, Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for Rupert's part in the film: Jonah Von Brucken. The film was re-released in Disney Digital 3-D in September 2006 along with UHF and a new film, Straight Outta Lynwood. CardCaptor Sakura Live In January 2006, Rupert appeared in a series of 18 live stave shows as Sakura Kinomoto. The shows are collectively called CardCaptor Sakura Live. All 18 shows were televised on PBS each Saturday morning. Unlike most adaptations of the famous CLAMP manga, including the then-ongoing live-action TV series, the stage shows were produced by Buena Vista Television, which almost led to a legal conflict with Warner Bros. Pictures. The studios settled in October 2005, allowing Disney's celebration of the franchise's 10th anniversary to go forward. The terms were that Warner received a percentage of the gross from the tickets to each stage show as well as a special thanks credit in the closing credits of the live broadcasts of each stage show. (All home video and Internet releases of the shows also retain the credit.) Wolf's Rain April 2006 was a busy month for Rupert, as two movies were released in theatres on the same day that month. The first of them was Wolf's Rain, a film set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic Earth where wolves and Lunar Flowers were believed to be extinct. Rupert portrayed Kiba in the film, but it was his part in the other film released in April, Haruka Teno/Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon S, that shot him to fame on Emma's level. At first, when the announcement was made that Rupert would be in that part in the film, people were doubtful; however, a one-two punch of promotional photos released in early December of 2004 followed by a teasr trailer attached to Sailor Moon R later that year was enough to convince everyone that Rupert was able to portray a girl effectively. The teaser was full of action scenes from the film, including the final battle. As a tie-in with the film, a book about making movies was released that focused on the individual work done by the cast and crew of this film. Going solo Rupert had done a solo film (Thunderpants) before, but it didn't make it to the United States until 2007, so to show Americans that he was able to strike out on his own, he appeared in the arthouse film Driving Lessons with Julie Walters and Laura Linney. The film's profanity was toned down for a PG-13 rating in the United States, and it became an arthouse classic. However, it wasn't until 2009 that the year's most anticipated arthouse film, Cherrybomb, was released. His acting in both films was encouraged by Emma, who asked him to do a good job. Filmography (since 2000) Film *The Adventures of Britney (2006) as Britney *Amazing Agent Luna (2005) (in 3-D) as Jonah Von Brucken *Angel Beats! (2011) (in 3-D) as Otonashi *Anime Seisaku Shinkō Kuromi-chan (2009) (Japanese) *Appleseed (2008) (in 3-D) as Briareos Hecatonchires *Appleseed Ex Machina (2011) (in 3-D) as Briareos Hecatonchires *Babel II (2008) (Italian) as Koichi/Babel II *Bleach (2008) (Italian) *Bubblegum Crisis (2010) (in 3-D) *Captain Harlock (2007) (Italian) (in 3-D) as Captain Harlock *Cherrybomb (2009) as Malachi *The Cherry Project (2005) *Le Chevalier d'Eon (2009) (French) *Code Geass (2009) *La Corda d'Oro (2007) (French) as Shouko Fuuyumi *Delinquent in Drag (2008) as Suke Banji *Digimon Adventure (2006) (in 3-D) as Taichi Yagami *Digimon Adventure 02 (2009) (in 3-D) as Taichi Yagami *Dokuro-chan (2009) as Zansu *Dominion Tank Police (2009) (in 3-D) *Dominion Tank Police 2 (2011) (in 3-D) *The Doom Stone (2004) as Jackson Cawley *Dragon Ball (2000) (Italian) as Krillin *Driving Lessons (2006) as Ben Marshall *Eden of the East (2012) (in 3-D) as Saki Morimi *El Hazard: The Magnificent World (2007) *Eureka Seven (2007) *Famicom Detective Club (2005) *Famicom Detective Club 2 (2007) *Finding Tomorrow (2004) *Fresh Pretty Cure (2012) (in 3-D) as Inori Yamabuki/Cure Pine *Fruits Basket (2006) *Full Metal Panic! (2006) (in 3-D) as Mizuki Inaba *Fullmetal Alchemist (2006) (Italian) as Edward Elric *Fumoffu (2007) (in 3-D) as Mizuki Inaba *Genshiken (2007) *The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross (2009) as Yoshitaka "Maora" Ichinomiya *Girls High (2009) *Gravitation (2008) *Gunslinger Girl (2006) (Italian) as Giuseppe Croce *Gunslinger Girl 2 (2007) (Italian) as Giuseppe Croce *Gunslinger Girl 3 (2008) (Italian) as Giuseppe Croce *Gunslinger Girl 4 (2009) (Italian) as Giuseppe Croce *Gunslinger Girl 5 (2010) (Italian) as Giuseppe Croce *Gunslinger Girl 6 (2011) (Italian) as Giuseppe Croce *Hana-Kimi (or, For You in Full Blossom) (2008) as Senri Nakao *Hayate the Combat Butler (2006) as Hayate Ayasaki/Michiru Ayasaki; Yukariko Sanzenin *Hayate the Combat Butler Part 2 (2007) as Hayate Ayasaki/Michiru Ayasaki *Heat Guy J (2009) (digital screenings in 3-D) as Daisuke Aurora *Heaven's Will (2010) *High School of the Dead (2012) (in 3-D) as Takashi Komuro; Rei Miyamoto; Shizuka Marikawa *Hikaru no Go (2004) *Hot Girls (2012) *Hourou Musuko (2006) *Hyakko (2010) as Torako Kageyama *I My Me! Strawberry Eggs (2009) *Initial D (2007) *InuYasha (2004) as Hojo; Akitoki Hojo *Jubei-chan: The Ninja Girl (2004) *Jubei-chan 2 (2005) *Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (2006) (in 3-D) *Kampfer (2010) as Natsuru Senou *Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl (2008) (Japanese) (in 3-D) as Hazumu Osaragi *Kirakira Rock Show (2011) (Japanese) (in 3-D) *Kore wa Zombie Desuka? (2012) (in 3-D) as Ayumu Aikawa; Haruna *Kore wa Zombie Desuka? 2 (2014) (in 3-D) as Ayumu Aikawa; Haruna *Kujibiki Unbalance (2008) *Kung Fu Romansu (2006) as Ami Kobayashi *Kung Fu Romansu: The Sequel (2009) as Ami Kobayashi *Love Hina (2007) *Loveless (2010) *Lucky Star (2008) *Mahoraba (2008) *Mahoromatic (2008) (in 3-D) *Maria Holic (2010) as Mariya Shidou; Shizu Shidou *Maria Holic Alive (2012) as Mariya Shidou; Shizu Shidou *MegaMan NT Warrior (2004) (in 3-D) as Lan Hikari; MegaMan *MegaMan NT Warrior 2 (2006) (in 3-D) as Lan Hikari; MegaMan *MegaMan NT Warrior: Axess (2006) (in 3-D) as Lan Hikari; MegaMan *MegaMan NT Warrior: Beast (2007) (in 3-D) as Lan Hikari; MegaMan *MegaMan NT Warrior: Beast+ (2008) (in 3-D) as Lan Hikari; MegaMan *MegaMan NT Warrior: Stream (2007) (in 3-D) as Lan Hikari; MegaMan *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2007) (credited as producer as SOS Brigade) (digital screenings and IMAX screenings show half-hour finale in 3-D) as Kyon *M-66 (2009) *My-HiME (2009) (Japanese) as Mai Tokiha *Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (2006) (Italian/French) as Jean Roque Raltique *Naruto (2008) (digital screenings in 3-D) *Negima! (2006) (in 3-D) as Madoka Kugimiya *Nurse Angel Ririka SOS (2003) *One Piece (2009) (in 3-D) as Sanji *Otoboku (2007) as Mizuho Miyanokoji *Ouran High School Host Club (2008) as Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka *Pocket Monsters (2007) as Wataru *Power Rangers Begin (2014) (in 3-D) as Caitlyn Marks/Pink Ranger *Pretty Cure (2007) (in 3-D) as Nagisa Misumi/Cure Black *Pretty Cure Max Heart (2008) (in 3-D) as Nagisa Misumi/Cure Black *Pretty Cure Splash Star (2009) (in 3-D) as Nagisa Misumi (uncredited) *Princess Nine (2008) *Princess Prince (2009) *Princess Princess (2007) *Rhysmyth (2008) *Sailor Moon (2003) (Italian/Spanish) (digital screenings in 3-D) as Haruka "WarGame" Teno *Sailor Moon R (2004) (Italian/Spanish) (digital screenings in 3-D) as Haruka "WarGame" Teno *Sailor Moon S (2006) (Italian/Spanish) (digital screenings in 3-D) as Haruka Teno/Sailor Uranus *Sailor Moon Stars (2008) (Italian/Spanish) (digital screenings in 3-D) as Haruka Teno/Sailor Uranus *Sailor Moon SuperS (2007) (Italian/Spanish) (digital screenings in 3-D) as Haruka Teno *Saint Tail (2007) as Rina Takamiya *School Rumble (2007) *Shuffle! (2008) as Asa Shigure *Slayers Premium (2009) (Mexican) (in 3-D) as Gourry Gabriev *Sol Bianca (2010) (in 3-D) as Janny Mann *Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) (in 3-D) as Carson Hidalgo *Strawberry Panic (2008) *Sugar Princess (2010) as Reina Komori *Suite Pretty Cure (2014) (in 3-D) as Kanade Minamino/Cure Rhythm *SuperGals (2010) as Miyu Yamazaki *This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (2009) *Thousand Years of Snow (2007) *Thunderpants (2002) as Alan A. Allen *Tokyo Babylon (2004) (in 3-D) as Subaru Sumeragi *To Love Ru (2011) as Ren/Run Elsie Jewelria *Tsubasa Chronicle (2009) (in 3-D) *Ultra Maniac (2008) (Italian) (in 3-D) as Kohei Mikami *Vampire Knight (2007) (in 3-D) *We Will Rock You (2011) as Galileo *Wild Target (2010) as Tony *Winds of Nostalgio (2010) (in 3-D) as Fiona *Winds of Nostalgio Part 2 (2010) (in 3-D) as Fiona *Winds of Nostalgio Part 3 (2011) (in 3-D) as Fiona *Winds of Nostalgio Part 4 (2011) (in 3-D) as Fiona *W.I.T.C.H. (2006) *Wolf's Rain (2006) *X: The Destiny War (2005) (in 3-D) as Subaru Sumeragi *Yawara (2007) *Yes! Pretty Cure 5 (2010) (in 3-D) as Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge, Pretty Cure of Passion *Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Go Go! (2011) (in 3-D) as Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge, Pretty Cure of Passion *You're Under Arrest (2006) as Aoi Futaba *Yubisaki Milk Tea (2007) as Yoshinori Ikeda/Yuki *Yu-Gi-Oh! (2006) (in 3-D) *Zodiac P.I. (2006) as Hiromi Oikawa Television *Akira (2008) (miniseries) (in 3-D) (ABC) as Kaisuke *Amazing Agent Luna specials (2007-2009) (TV specials) (Disney Channel originals) (in 3-D) (Disney Channel) as Jonah Von Brucken *Emma Watson On Ice (2003-) (TV specials) (PBS) as Various (2005-) *The Giver (2002) (TV special) (ABC) as Jonas *Hana-Kimi: The Series (2009-) (PBS) as Senri Nakao *Haruhi Suzumiya specials (2008-2012) (TV specials) (in 3-D) (ABC) as Kyon *Kung Fu Romansu: The Series (2010-) (FOX) as Ami Kobayashi *Macross (2008) (PBS) as Roy Fokker *Misfile (2010-) (ABC) as Ash(ley) Upton *Negima! (2007-) (in 3-D) (CBS) as Madoka Kugimiya *Ouran High School Host Club specials (2009-) (TV specials) (PBS and CBS) as Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka *The Outsiders (2006) (TV special) (ABC) as Ponyboy Curtis *Pretty Cure All Stars (2012) (TV special) (in 3-D) (ABC Family) as Nagisa Misumi/Cure Black; Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge, Pretty Cure of Passion; Inori Yamabuki/Cure Pine *Pretty Cure All Stars 2 (2013) (TV special) (in 3-D) (ABC Family) as Nagisa Misumi/Cure Black; Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge, Pretty Cure of Passion; Inori Yamabuki/Cure Pine *Ranma ½ (2005-2011) (in 3-D) (PBS and CBS) as Tsubasa Kurenai *The Slayers (2005-2007; 2010-2011) (Mexican) (in 3-D) (NBC and Telemundo) as Gourry Gabriev *Tokyo Mew Mew (2005-2006) (in 3-D) (PBS) as Ryou Shirogane *Urusei Yatsura (2005-) (in 3-D) (PBS) as Akira *Walt Disney (2008-) (PBS) as Various *Yubisaki Milk Tea specials (2008) (TV specials) (ABC) as Yoshinori Ikeda/Yuki DTV programs *Aerobic Dance-A-Long (2006) as himself *Aerobic Dance-A-Long 2 (2014) as himself *Sakura Taisen (2009-) (Italian) (in 3-D) as Sumire Kanzaki Web originals *Anime Critic (2009-) (also in 3-D) as the Cosplaying Assistant *Futari wa Pretty Cure Flash Fire (2011-) (in 3-D) as Homura Boukeno/Cure Ember *The Genderbending of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009-) (in 3-D) as Kyonko *The Nostalgia Critic (2008-) (also in 3-D) as Various *Pretty Cure Full Color (2012-) (in 3-D) as Aki Kazeno/Cure Autumn *Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy (2011-) (in 3-D) as Chloe Auriville/Cure Rosa *TGWTG Anniversary Brawl (2009) as the Cosplaying Assistant